Cristiano Ronaldo: gone. Lionel Messi: gone. But Luis Suarez is still standing. The 1930 and 1950 champions Uruguay are through to the quarter finals; they’ll face France in Nizhny Novgorod on Friday afternoon. Both teams thoroughly deserve to be there after scoring some cracking goals today. The only downside for Uruguay is the injury to the heroic Edinson Cavani; he’ll be a huge miss should he not recover in time. As for Ronaldo and his Euro 2016 winners ... well, they’ll always have Paris. Thanks for reading. Nighty night!
And it’s time to give your player ratings. I hope the tech folk have tweaked this so Cavani’s go up to 11, Nigel Tufnel style.
Here’s our snap match report:
FULL TIME: Uruguay 2-1 Portugal
And that’s it! Edinson Cavani’s sensational double has deservedly won the match for Uruguay! They’ll play France in the first quarter final on Friday. Meanwhile Cristiano Ronaldo joins Lionel Messi on the road home!
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90 min +6: Rui Patricio can’t get a head on the ball. Uruguay hack clear!
90 min +5: Quaresma, just inside the Uruguay box on the right, shoots towards the near post. Muslera saves, but not convincingly, spilling the ball round the post. Corner. Up comes Rui Patricio!
90 min +4: If Portugal somehow save themselves, Ronaldo won’t be playing in the quarters. That’s because he’s just picked up a yellow card for dissent. Portugal didn’t get a free kick when Quaresma went over Stuani’s leg: cue fume.
90 min +3: Some superb hold-up play by Suarez down the right. He then curls a ball into the centre for Rodriguez, who is clear and should wrap things up. But he miscontrols and it’s a goal kick.
90 min +2: Bernardo Silva whips a dangerous ball into the Uruguay area from the left. Shrieks in the stadium, but Godin is the model of calm, and clears.
90 min +1: Muslera takes a while over the goal kick, in the professional style.
90 min: Ronaldo comes in from the left and shoots from 25 yards. The ball sails 25 yards wide right. There will be four additional minutes. Four minutes for the European champions to save themselves!
89 min: Ronaldo threatens to break free down the middle, but he’s crowded out of it. Laxalt bursts down the left and earns a free kick that wastes some more precious seconds.
88 min: The busy Suarez starts a move that wastes a minute deep in Portuguese territory. The tension is palpable. The knockout stage of the World Cup, everyone!
87 min: Fernandes has another shot from distance. Nope.
86 min: This is attack versus defence now. Quaresma crosses deep from the right. Andre Silva meets it at the far post, but can’t find a team-mate.
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85 min: Joao Mario is replaced by Fernandes, who is soon shooting for goal, 25 yards out on the right. Muslera claims easily.
84 min: Pereira tries to brush his way past Godin, down the inside-right channel. He goes to ground in the area, and wants a penalty, but he’s never going to get that decision. The ball apologetically trundles out for a goal kick.
83 min: Quaresma sends a lovely cross into the Uruguay box from the left. It’s inches away from Ronaldo’s head. Bernardo Silva then bustles in from the right, but his low cross is hacked clear by Torreira. “Why are the Portuguese insisting on playing these short corner routines?” wonders Prateek Chadha. “Especially when the two or three times they have actually managed to put a cross in, the Uruguayan defenders have been in all kinds of strife.”
81 min: A short corner routine comes to nothing. Ronaldo then has a dribble down a cul-de-sac on the right. Uruguay are holding firm right now.
80 min: Bernardo Silva makes his way to the byline down the left. His low centre is hacked behind for another corner by Gimenez. Before the set piece can be taken, Nandez is replaced by Sanchez.
78 min: Ronaldo shoots from the best part of 30 yards. The effort is easily blocked. The first sign of Portuguese desperation.
77 min: Quaresma wins a corner off Laxalt down the right. Ronaldo launches himself at the ball, as it flies past the near post, but doesn’t connect. Guerreiro has a whack from distance, but it’s no use.
75 min: Cavani is on the bench, grimacing, as ice packs are applied to his shin. The whole of Uruguay will have their fingers crossed, should they make it through to the quarters.
73 min: Cavani has picked up a knock, and limps out of the game. Such a shame after his stellar contribution this evening. He’s replaced by Stuani. Meanwhile Portugal make another change, swapping Guedes for Andre Silva.
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72 min: Ronaldo breaks down the left, but there’s nobody in the box in support. Another Portuguese attack ends limply.
70 min: And yet they should be level again. Muslera fumbles a cross from the left. He tries to reclaim the ball as it bounces around the area, but falls to the ground. The ball breaks to Bernardo Silva, on the edge of the area. The net’s unguarded, but he sends his shot over the bar. It wasn’t a complete sitter - he had to fire through a crowded area - but it’s a bad miss from a player of his quality.
69 min: Quaresma probes down the right, but not with any great speed, and Portugal’s attack fizzles out. They look a little deflated right now.
67 min: Portugal win a corner down the right. Uruguay fail to clear their lines convincingly, and Joao Mario enters the box from the left. But he can’t get a shot or cross away. Uruguay clear with more purpose at the second opportunity.
66 min: That’s not a bad response by Uruguay to conceding their first goal of this tournament, and their first goal in 2018, eh?
65 min: ... while Adrien Silva is replaced by Quaresma.
64 min: Bentancur is replaced by Rodriguez ...
GOAL! Uruguay 2-1 Portugal (Cavani 62)
It’s another Uruguayan beauty! This is such a sweet finish. And again so simple. Muslera launches long. Bentancur takes control and moves menacingly towards the Portugal box. He’s got Cavani on the left, and rolls a perfectly weighted pass towards him. Cavani opens his body and sidefoots powerfully into the right-hand side of the net. That’s a wonderful goal!
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60 min: Guedes shoots to earn a corner. Adrien earns another corner. Some head tennis allows Muslera to claim. But Uruguay are finding it difficult to get upfield right now.
59 min: The equaliser has led to some uncertainty in the Uruguay defence. Joao Mario dribbles into their area down the right. His cross isn’t up to much, but a few holes are opening up now.
57 min: Laxalt tries to re-energise Uruguay with a burst down the left. He’s clattered from behind by Carvalho, who escapes serious censure. This referee doesn’t get agitated by much.
GOAL! Uruguay 1-1 Portugal (Pepe 55)
The ball’s whipped in from the left. Ronaldo leaps, but the ball sails over his head. No matter, because just behind him, Pepe has ghosted into space! He rises and blasts a header past a helpless Muslera. Uruguay were uncharacteristically dozy in defence there.
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54 min: Bernardo Silva fizzes down the inside right and fires into the middle. The ball ricochets to the edge of the box. Adrien Silva shoots. It’s deflected wide left. Corner. From which ...
52 min: Bernardo Silva grafts to earn a corner down the right off Laxalt. The set piece is worked out to Guerreiro, who tries to send a rising shot into the top left from distance. But the effort’s well off target.
50 min: Guedes drifts in from the left wing. For a second, it looks like he’ll have time to get a shot away, but Nandez steps in to gently relieve him of possession. Guedes fouls his opponent in frustration. It’s not worked out for the Valencia youngster tonight. Yet.
48 min: Rui Patricio plays a poor pass out towards Pepe, who nearly loses out to Suarez. Fortunately for Portugal, the ball breaks off the Uruguay striker and out for a goal kick. But that was nearly another calamitous mistake. Some nerves on display out there.
47 min: Joao Mario curls a cross in from the right, but it’s easily headed clear by Godin.
46 min: Fonte tries to usher a long ball back to his keeper, and nearly has his pocket picked by the buzzing Bentancur. For a second, that threatened to become a disastrous start to the second period for the European champions.
And we’re off again! Uruguay get the second half underway. There have been no half-time changes. “I like this ref and his ‘just play on’ attitude,” opines Robin Hazlehurst. “Can someone please please now boot Pepe three miles up in the air so the ref can watch him land and just say ‘up you get son, nothing doing’. Who on the planet would not love to see that?” The rhetorical question to end all rhetorical questions, right there.
Half-time reading. The winner of this match will play a quarter final against France, who saw off Argentina earlier in a seven-goal spectacular. Our man Nick Ames was at the Kazan Arena, on hand to riff, be-bop and scat on Lionel Messi’s pain.
HALF TIME: Uruguay 1-0 Portugal
Cavani chases after a long hoof down the left, but can only shank a weak volley well wide. And that’s that for the first half. It’s not been a classic, but Uruguay’s goal was a thing of real beauty, some spectacular long-distance interplay between Suarez and Cavani. Portugal have 45 minutes to crack the Uruguay code; the sky blues haven’t been breached in six-and-a-half matches. It promises to be a thrilling second half. Go nowhere!
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45 min: Suarez is revived by the magic sponge. Portugal waste their corner. There will be two additional minutes of play in this first half.
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44 min: Guerreiro elbows Suarez in the back as the pair go up for a high ball. Uruguay want a free kick for the foul, but for some reason don’t get one. Portugal race up the other end with Suarez prone and loud whistling ringing around the stadium. Ronaldo wins a corner on the right. Uruguay take advantage of the break in play to engage the referee in philosophical debate.
42 min: From tight on the right touchline, Nandez hoicks a speculative shot high into the crowd behind the goal. It’d have been worth something in rugby.
41 min: Uruguay seem happy to turn this into a grind, which is what this has suddenly become. Does this count as breaking news? It doesn’t really, does it.
39 min: Another cross into the Uruguayan mixer is easily dealt with by Godin. He even brushes off an accidental clash of heads with Guedes. “The prospect of Pepe and Ronaldo imploding if it stays like this with ten minutes to go is just mouthwatering beyond belief,” salivates Andy Tuohy, looking forward to some traditional Saturday night light entertainment on ITV.
37 min: Bernardo Silva slides in on Cavani, and is fortunate not to see yellow. The referee is in an easy-going mood tonight.
35 min: Caceres dribbles in from the right and thinks about shooting from the edge of the box. But he checks back and lays off for Nandez, who crosses. Cavani, coming in from the left, tries to tee himself up for a shot, but gets too much on his chest-down and runs the ball out for a goal kick.
33 min: Uruguay haven’t done a whole lot in attack since going ahead, but when they do press forward they look dangerous. Suarez bursts in from the left and nearly breaks through the Portugal back line; Caceres and Nandez combine on the other flank and are very close to opening their opponents up.
32 min: Ronaldo blasts an uncharacteristically witless effort straight into the Uruguay wall. What a waste.
31 min: Guerreiro slips a pass forward for Guedes, who is bundled over to the left of the D by Bentancur. That’s clumsy and not so clever. A free kick in a dangerous spot, and Ronaldo’s eyes have lit up.
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29 min: Portugal press and probe, and push Uruguay back into their final third. But Uruguay’s shape is solid, and there’s no route through. Eventually Caceres hassles Guerreiro into running the ball out of play. A sixty-second defensive masterclass.
28 min: Pereira drags Cavani back, and is slightly fortunate to escape a booking. A slight lull, so the crowd entertain themselves with some Icelandic thunderclaps.
26 min: Carvalho takes, hooking the free kick into the mixer. Fonte and Ronaldo both attack the ball; both miss it. Portugal have seen much more of the ball, but have yet to force Muslera into serious action.
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25 min: Bernardo Silva is knocked to the ground by Godin as he tears down the right. A free kick, and a chance for Portugal to load the box.
24 min: Joao Mario curls one in from the left. Guedes attempts to trap, spin and shoot, but can only kick the ball up onto his flailing arm. A free kick that releases some pressure on Uruguay.
22 min: Suarez threads a low one under the jumping wall, towards the bottom right. Rui Patricio does extremely well to get down and stick out a strong hand to parry clear. Bentancur tries to keep the move going, latching onto the loose ball out on the right. But his delivery doesn’t find a sky-blue shirt, and eventually the attack fizzles out.
21 min: Suarez zips towards the Portugal box, and is upended by Pepe. That’s a free kick in a very dangerous position, just outside the area. Suarez gets up, and very much likes the look of it.
19 min: Bernardo Silva slips a pass down the inside-right channel for Guedes, who bursts into the Uruguay area. Guedes spins and dinks a cross into the middle. Ronaldo is winding his neck back, ready to fire one of those trademark bullet headers, but Gimenez reads it well and heads clear.
18 min: Pereira makes good down the right and reaches the byline. He then whistles a low cross towards the near post. It’s travelling, and Muslera does very well to gather without drama. Portugal have responded well to going behind; they’re enjoying the lion’s share of possession right now.
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16 min: Guedes has his first sight of goal, but his shot from the edge of the box is weak, and deflects through to Muslera in dribbly fashion. It’s a nice, open match.
14 min: Cavani returns the favour to Suarez, releasing him into a little bit of space down the right. Suarez enters the box, but can’t sort his feet out to get a shot away. His eventual effort is deflected out for another corner; once again the set piece isn’t worthy of comment.
12 min: Ronaldo cuts in from the left and has a belt. The effort’s blocked pretty much at source by Torreira. Brave, because that looks a sore smack. He’ll be fine to continue, but he just needs to roll about a bit first, and make a quick adjustment in his shorts.
11 min: Portugal come back at Uruguay with purpose. From a corner on the right, Guerreiro loops a cross to the far stick, where Fonte leaps highest. His header, from the left-hand corner of the six-yard box, flashes across the face of goal. A bad miss, though it’d have been surely ruled out had it been on target, because Fonte was shoving Vecino in the back.
9 min: That was some long-distance one-two! Just a picture-perfect goal. Or maybe not quite ... Cavani might have converted that chance with his face, as opposed to his forehead. But this is a mere quibble. That was a sensational goal.
GOAL! Uruguay 1-0 Portugal (Cavani 7)
This is simple, and so brilliant! Cavani, out deep on the right, launches a crossfield pass for Suarez on the left, and peels off. Suarez cuts inside, whips a high cross to the far post, where Cavani, romping infield, smashes a header into the top right!
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6 min: Uruguay haven’t let in a goal for six games; can Portugal’s free-scoring talisman put an end to that run? Not yet. There’s a little space for Bernardo Silva, down the right. He turns and tees the ball up for Ronaldo, who sends a low screamer goalwards from 20 yards. It flies straight down Muslera’s throat.
4 min: Nandez and Suarez one-two down the right, the former earning the first corner of the game. Before it can be taken, Godin shoves Pepe in the chest, in the playground style; Pepe falls on his behind. Pure slapstick. The actual corner is a non-event. Here’s Charles Antaki: “Portugal’s change strip is innocuous - white, fair enough. Their real disappointment is giving up on the national-flag-colour-oxblood first-choice shirt of yore. Unique. Scores play in red; who else plays in the colour of blood?” Javier Mascherano? Terry Butcher?
2 min: Ronaldo performs a fancy shuffle down the left. It confuses Uruguay. That allows Joao Mario to scuttle towards the byline and cross deep. Bernardo Silva rises at the far post, but his header is way off target. Both sides have put a marker down already, so that’s promising!
1 min: Uruguay are on the front foot almost immediately, Suarez bothering Fonte down the right, Bentancur winning a ball in the middle of the park he’d no right to win. Nothing much comes of it, but it’s a statement of intent.
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And we’re off! Portugal get the party started. “Uruguay’s Laxalt sounds like something out of the medicine cabinet, and he looks a quality player from what I saw in the group stage. Fast-acting, fizzy, and doesn’t go down too easy.” Peter Oh, ladies and gentlemen. He’s here all week. Try the Imodium.
The teams are out! A cracking atmosphere under the lights at the Fisht Stadium; it’s been one gloriously noisy World Cup. Pennants are exchanged, hands are clasped, patriotic songs are sung, White Stripes riffs are blasted, coins are tossed. We’ll be off very soon! And let’s hope the players remember the average number of goals per game during the knockout stage currently stands at seven, and entertain accordingly. Admittedly the sample size is only one, but the point remains. No pressure, lads!
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The national anthems: The full version of Uruguay’s Orientales, la Patria o la Tumba lasts for six minutes. Six minutes! It’s practically a jazz odyssey. Beware members of the band nodding out, high on mate. ♩♪ ♫ ♬ This sacred gift, of glory we’ve deserved: tyrants tremble! ♩♪ ♫ ♬
A Portuguesa has something of a grand flavour as well. It was originally written to take a pop at the British. To be fair, we are pretty annoying. ♩♪ ♫ ♬ To arms, to arms! / Over land, over sea / To arms, to arms! / For the Fatherland, fight! / Against the cannons, march on, march on! ♩♪ ♫ ♬
Speaking of Varela ... what a man. Hey, any old excuse to tell the story of Uruguay’s 1950 triumph in this competition, and the greatest game in the World Cup’s long history.
Pre-match playtime. Fancy yourself as a budding Fernando Santos? Maybe you want to take a degree course in telecommunications engineering, like the man himself did while playing as a defender for Estoril in the 1970s. Or perhaps you want to pick the Portugal team. We can help you with the latter, at least. Sort of.
Sadly we don’t have one of these clever gizmos for Uruguay. But it’s all moot anyway. We all dream of a team of 11 Obdulio Varelas. What’s to discuss?
The inner sancta. Uruguay’s world-famous sky-blue kit matches the decor of the Fisht Stadium’s changing rooms.
Portugal’s shirt complements it. It would appear they’re not playing in their lovely first-choice red, which is something of a shame.
Uruguay make one change to the side that stuffed Russia 3-0 in the last game of Group A. They welcome back Atletico Madrid central defender Jose Gimenez, who replaces big Sebastian Coates, formerly of Liverpool but now of Sporting Lisbon.
Portugal make three changes from the XI which scraped past Iran in the final match of Group B. In come Ricardo Pereira of Porto, Valencia striker Goncalo Guedes and Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva. Southampton’s Cedric Soares, Besiktas attacker Ricardo Quaresma and Andre Silva of Milan making way.
The teams
Uruguay: Muslera, Caceres, Gimenez, Godin, Laxalt, Nandez, Torreira, Vecino, Bentancur, Suarez, Cavani.
Subs: Campana, Varela, Sanchez, Rodriguez, De Arrascaeta, Stuani, Gaston Silva, Maxi Pereira, Gomez, Coates, Urreta, Martin Silva.
Portugal: Rui Patricio, Ricardo Pereira, Pepe, Fonte, Guerreiro, Bernardo Silva, William Carvalho, Adrien Silva, Joao Mario, Goncalo Guedes, Ronaldo.
Subs: Lopes, Bruno Alves, Fernandes, Joao Moutinho, Andre Silva, Dias, Bruno Fernandes, Gelson Martins, Mario Rui, Quaresma, Cedric, Beto.
Referee: Cesar Arturo Ramos Palazuelos (Mexico).
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The big preview. Here’s our man in Sochi, Sid Lowe, on Suarez, Ronaldo, lessons learned from the 1954 World Cup, and the dangers of typing the word “shithousery” into a popular internet search engine.
We now know that the winners of tonight’s match will face France in the first quarter-final on Friday afternoon. If you were unfortunate enough to miss the changing of the guard, 19-year-old Kylian Mbappe demolishing Argentina as Lionel Messi took his leave of the World Cup stage, relive every moment with Jacob Steinberg’s MBM ... then get on Jonathan Wilson’s match report from the Kazan Arena.
Preamble
You can dress this one up any way you want. But when you boil the bones down, this is Luis Suarez versus Cristiano Ronaldo. You know, apologies to Edinson Cavani, Ricardo Quaresma, Diego Godin, Pepe and all ... bottom line, this is a showdown between two of the greatest players in the world. Hey, there’s nothing wrong with being a little starstruck, it’s the innocent fun of the World Cup. Don’t let that cynical old inner hipster smother your childlike wonder.
That doesn’t mean we’re talking about one-man teams, of course ... oh no, because both of these countries have a decent chance of winning this wide-open World Cup. Both boast a superstar; both can rely on a super-strong supporting cast; both are usually parsimonious in defence; both are dangerous in attack; both have been battle-hardened in recent major tournaments. Portugal are the reigning European champions, and were World Cup semi-finalists in 2006; Uruguay made it to the last four in 2010, and plenty who won the 2011 Copa America remain. It wouldn’t be beyond the realms of fantasy if either side lifted the trophy on July 15.
Uruguay look in better nick: they won all three of their Group A games, swatting aside hosts Russia 3-0 with contemptuous ease. Portugal by comparison were so nearly knocked out by Iran in Group B, Mehdi Taremi rippling the side netting from close range during the last knockings of the final game. But then Cristiano Ronaldo is after that Golden Boot, and he’s already found the net four times, whereas Suarez has just the two goals to his illustrious name. So it’s swings and roundabouts.
There’s little history to go on. These lads have only played each other twice: just before the 1966 World Cup, when a Jose Torres hat-trick won it for Portugal, and at the 1972 Brazil Independence Cup, when the teams drew as the hosts celebrated the 150th anniversary of their going it alone. Nothing at a World Cup. This is a first. And it’s a tough one to call. It could be a grind ... or it could be a cracker. Let’s go with cracker, because it’s the Euro 2016 winners versus the two-time champions of the world! It’s the second round of the 2018 World Cup! It’s on!
Kick off: 7pm BST, 9pm at the Fisht Stadium in Sochi.
